Modern motor vehicles often include one or more in-vehicle information systems that provide a wide variety of information and entertainment options to occupants in the vehicle. Common services that are provided by the in-vehicle information systems include, but are not limited to, vehicle state and diagnostic information, navigation applications, hands-free telephony, radio and music playback, and traffic condition alerts. In-vehicle information systems often include multiple input and output devices. For example, traditional buttons and control knobs that are used to operate radios and audio systems are commonly used in vehicle information systems. More recent forms of vehicle input include touchscreen input devices that combine input and display into a single screen, as well as voice-activated functions where the in-vehicle information system responds to voice commands. Examples of output systems include mechanical instrument gauges, output display panels, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, and audio output devices that produce synthesized speech.
One type of an in-vehicle information system is an in-vehicle navigation assistance system and one use of such a system is to locate points-of-interest (POIs) on a displayed map or portion of a displayed map. Being able to locate POIs involves two modes of operation of the in-vehicle navigation assistance system: an object view mode and an object modification mode. In the object view mode, the display of an object is changed. For example, if a map of an area is being displayed, the display may be changed to an adjacent area by moving a finger over the displayed map to the right or left to bring a map of the adjoining right or left region into view. In the object modification mode, a particular portion of the displayed object is modified, typically, with a drawing or the like. An example of this mode of operation occurs when a user, who is attempting to find a POI such as a restaurant in a particular area of a displayed map, uses a finger to encircle the portion of the displayed map in which the user is interested. The in-vehicle navigation assistance system then limits its search for restaurants to those within the encircled region.
One difficulty presented by the in-vehicle navigation assistance system described above is the mechanism used to select the mode of operation for the system. In previously known systems, the operational mode is changed by a manual actuator or a touch button presented on the display. Use of such an actuator or button can disrupt the user's work flow as the user needs to move his or her hand from the area of the display that is the focus of the task at hand to the perimeter where the actuator or button is located. A voice command may be used if the system is configured for audible input, but the processing of voice commands can be time consuming and confusing as the system sometimes misidentifies a voice command. Additionally, environmental conditions, such as conversations, music, or road noise, can interfere with a system's ability to interpret voice commands. Therefore, improved systems and methods for manipulating the operational mode of in-vehicle information systems would be beneficial.